1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wall mounted microwave oven and a control method therefor, more particularly, to a wall mounted microwave oven comprising a body forming therein a cavity for accommodating food to be cooked, a magnetron for generating electromagnetic waves to be provided into the cavity, a casing surrounding the body and forming therein a hood duct having an inlet port positioned at the bottom portion of the casing and an outlet port positioned in the upper portion thereof, and a hood fan installed in the hood duct and a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a wall mounted microwave oven is mounted on a wall above a gas range 50, and has a function of inhaling vapor and fumes generated when food are cooked in the gas range 50 and exhaling them, in order for the microwave oven to serve as a hood. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall mounted microwave oven is comprised of a body 3 having a cavity 4 in which the food are accommodated, and a casing 6 surrounding the body 3. A magnetron 30 which supplies electromagnetic waves into the cavity 4 is mounted in the body 3. The magnetron 30 receives a high-tension current via a high-voltage transformer (not shown) and a high-voltage capacitor (not shown).
Meanwhile, the casing 6 includes an upper casing 6a surrounding the upper portion and both the side surfaces of the body 3 and a lower casing 6b combined with the lower portion of the body 3. Hood duct 15 as a path for exhausting vapor and fumes is formed in the space between the casing 6 and the body 3. To do so, an inlet port 8 for inhaling vapor and fumes into the hood duct 15 is formed on the lower casing 6b and an outlet port 9 is formed on the upper surface of the upper casing 6a. An exhaust pipe 11 is connected with the outlet port 9. The exhaust pipe 11 is connected with an exhaust path 17 penetrating the wall and communicating with the air. A hood fan 13 is installed in the upper portion of the body 3 in the vicinity of the outlet port 9, in order to exhaust the vapor and fumes inhaled into the hood duct 15 via the inlet port 8 to the air via the outlet port 9. Meanwhile, a hood lamp 55 for illuminating the gas range 50 is installed on the bottom of the lower casing 6b.
Meanwhile, a user can choose from various select buttons provided on an operation control panel, so that the hood fan 13 is activated or deactivated. As being the case, a hood sensor is provided in the inlet port 8 or the inner portion of the hood duct 15, thereby generating, e. g. a heat detect signal as a control signal so as to supply electric power to the hood fan 13 or isolate the hood fan 13 from the electric power, according to a temperature of ambient air. The hood sensor is generally formed of a bimetal and turned on if the ambient temperature is above a predetermined temperature. The hood sensor is interposed between a hood fan motor 45 and an electrical power source, and generates a control signal for connecting and disconnecting the power source to and from the hood fan motor 45, respectively, according to whether to detect heat or not.
In the case that the magnetron 30 having a consumption power of above 1 KW and the hood lamp 55 having a consumption power of 80 W, or the magnetron 30 having a consumption power of above 1 KW and the hood fan 13 having a consumption power of 150 W-200 W operate simultaneously, a fuse in a distribution panel is melted and thus electrical power is cut off, because the microwave oven may have been overloaded.
Accordingly, the wall mounted microwave oven can choose the electric power to be supplied for the magnetron 30 to a voltage lower than a normal voltage in order to prevent the microwave oven from being overloaded or accept a user's selection.
However, for a conventional wall mounted microwave oven, the controller 10 doesn't know when hood fan 13 is operated without controller 10's instruction according to the hood sensor formed of a bimetal. Thus, the controller 10 cannot control a voltage level for the magnetron 30 in the event that the hood fan 13 operated by the hood sensor formed of a bimetal and the problem of the overload cannot be effectively solved at that time.